One Piece: Destined Heroes
by Rajin639
Summary: It's been 20 years since the death of the rubber Pirate King, and after an inspirational speech, he has ignited another age of pirates in search of his fabled treasure. Join Kaizen, a strange teenage boy, as he travels the South Blue in search of crew members, so that he may one day reach the ultimate goal of finding One Piece, and becoming Pirate King. OC's accepted
1. Prolouge

**I do not own One Piece, all rights go to Eiichiro Oda**

**OC's are accepted, read below for further notice**

* * *

**Chapter 1:Prologue **

_20 years ago, a single man bowed his head for his execution at Loguetown, "Shishishi." The man laughed as he observed the crowd that had come to watch him breathe his last breath._

_The executioners knew that any words the man would say could easily spark another pirate age, so in order to prevent such age from starting they raised their spears._

_"Shishishi." The man laughed again, "Can I not have my final words?" The man asked as the executioners, feeling the pressure of the man's haki, collapsed onto the ground._

_"I only have a few more words to say." The man said before clearing his throat, "I've found the One Piece, and placed it back at its hiding place, waiting for someone to find it by surpassing me. This treasure has the power to grant its finder, and their crew wealth, fame, and knowledge."_

_A marine loaded his pistol, and fired a bullet at the Pirate King, causing the man to smile. "Now off, for the only way to find it is in the Grand Line!" He yelled before the bullet pierced through the middle of his forehead._

_As his body fell limp with lifelessness a wide smile could be seen stretched across his face. For why wouldn't he smile? He had just single-handily sparked another great age of pirates._

* * *

A large white shark swam around its territory searching for its next meal, it wasn't too much a fan of fish, but larger meals like human were its favorite. After swimming for a few minutes, the hungry beast had spotted its ideal lunch. Not too far from the shark was a simple wooden boat housing a sleeping silhouette. The shark quickly sprang into action as it raced towards its next target.

* * *

A gagged slim brunette woman squirmed around as her crew of masked captors tied her onto a mast.

"This should do for now." One of the captors said before laughing. "For her, the perverts, and sex slavers will pay us a fortune."

The woman continued to squirm, this wasn't what she wished for when she ran away from her home, but somehow it came to this. Her captors began to laugh, and drink as they imagined their future fortune, "How much are we putting her up for?" One asked, "Probably 25 million beli." Another answered happily, "Or maybe even more!"

The woman felt sick to her stomach as she regretted the past choices she's made. _"This can all be over if I can just get my hand into my pocket."_ She thought to herself before squirming to the point where she had gotten her hand into her pocket.

_"Bingo!"_Inside her pocket was a simple rope necklace with an arrowhead as a charm, this necklace was a gift from her late mother, and it never left her side. The woman quickly grabbed the arrow-head, and saw through her pants pocket, setting her hand free without further squirming. The woman then began cutting the ropes that bound her before, cutting the rope that gagged her.

Once free, the woman raised her arms in victory. "I'm finally free!" She exclaimed capturing the attention of her captors.

"Take off a few million beli." One of the captors said before raising his sword. "This one's losing an arm." He quickly lunged himself at the woman causing her to turn her head away.

_"Damn my big mouth."_ She thought, _"Who knew that would be the end of me."_ The man drew closer as he readied himself to strike.

"**_Elongated Pop!_**" An elongated wooden arm quickly slammed its fist into the side of the charging captor, sending him overboard.

All eyes widened as the source of the attack landed on board from the sky, and returned his elongated wooden fist back to its normal slightly tanned self. "That attack came from him?" The woman asked no one in particular as she stared at the source of the attack, a teenage boy.

The boy had scruffy brown hair, and a slight tan, he was dressed in a green tank top with black stripes, khaki cargo shorts, and black shoes. He slowly looked up at everyone before smile, "What's up?" He asked obliviously causing the other captors to turn red with anger.

"This little shit just did away with Tommy!" One of them exclaimed, "Lets get that bastard!" Another exclaimed as they quickly surrounded the boy with their swords at hand before charging at him.

"So it's a fight you want?" The boy asked before chuckling, "Well okay, but don't say I didn't warn you." His right leg quickly turned into a wooden block as it elongated, "**_Unrooted Sweep!_**" He quickly spun around, sweeping the captors off of their feet before returning his leg to normal, and racing towards the edge of the boat.

_"Woah, he just took out all of my captors in one move."_The woman thought in amazement before noticing her retreating hero. "Wait where the hell are you going?!"

The boy turned his head back to the woman before giving her a wide smile, "I only knocked them off of their feet, they should be back to their normal selves in a few seconds." He said as he neared the edge of the boat, "And I bet they're going to mad."

The woman began to panic before yelling back out to the teenage boy, "You can't just leave without dragging the damsel along!" She exclaimed causing the boy to stop in his tracks.

"Oh." The boy replied as his now wooden arm stretched out to grab one of the fallen captor's leg, "Lets go damsel!" He yelled out causing the woman to face palm at his stupidity.

"Not him you shit-head." The woman exclaimed, "I'm the damsel in the distress, so drag me along!" The boy's arm quickly let go of the captor's leg before grabbing onto the woman's wrist.

"You should have said that before." The boy said happily as he sprinted toward the edge of the ship, "Now hold on!" He quickly jumped off the side of the ship before shortening his arm, letting the woman fall right next to him.

_"Something tells me that I should have just stayed on the boat."_ The woman thought before catching sight of their landing target, a simple wooden boat. "What the hell!" She exclaimed, "How are we going to land on such a small boat, and if we do the boat is just going to break into millions of pieces!"

The boy smiled, "We're not going to land in the boat." He said acting as if it was obvious. "We're going to land on that shark." On cue the large shark from earlier jump out from underwater, and opened its mouth as if it were about to eat its next meal.

"What the hell!" The woman cursed as the duo neared the shark, "Well it's official, today is the day that I'm going to die." She sighed causing the boy to break out into laughter.

"You think my friend is going to eat you?!" He continued to laugh until the duo was only a few feet away from the fish. "This is how we play around, watch this." With a swift action, the boy slammed his fist onto the nose before clutching onto it, and wrapping his legs around the wooden boat.

"What the hell is that suppo..." The woman was cut off as she landed face first onto the simple wooden boat, "I hate you so much right now." She muttered as she stood up, and wiped the blood from under her nose before examining the red liquid. _"Blood."_ She thought,_"The last time I bled was..."_ A bullet whizzed by the front of her face causing her to jump in fear.

"Those bastards are still here!" One of the captors exclaimed, "Ready the cannons, they're on a boat without paddles, there's no way they can dodge the firing in time."

The boy smiled, "Well I guess it's about time we got out of here." He said before taking both of his fist, and rubbing them on the side of the shark's face. "Come on now shark, how about a game?"

The sharks eyes widened, it seem that these "games" ended with him getting injured. The shark, scared for his life, swiftly, but obliquely, fled the scene, dragging the boy, the woman, and the boat along with him.

* * *

The shark finally slowed down as the boy took his knuckles away from the side of the shark's face, and the woman tied the shark's tail fin to the front of the small boat. The boy quickly jumped off of the shark's back, and landed cross-legged on his boat before turning his head to the woman, and smiling.

"Who are you anyways?" The boy asked before raising an eyebrow, "And why were you with those masked men back there, if you didn't want to be apart of their crew?"

The woman laughed at the boy's naive remark, "I'm Juliet Loosenhart, and those men I were with earlier simply kidnapped me to sell my beauty off to the likes of high paying perverts."

The boy raised an eyebrow, "Beauty?" He asked as he examined Juliet, "Well they must have kidnapped the wrong person." Within second Juliet pummeled the boy onto the ground, leaving him with a bruise on his head.

"I dare you to say that again you bastard!" She exclaimed before regaining her composure, and smiling, "Now anyways, who are you, and how did you appear when I needed you the most?"

The boy jumped up from the ground, seemingly unscathed, before smiling widely. "I'm Kaizen D. Leo." Kaizen said before placing his hands on his hips, "And it was only a coincidence that I happened to sail by your captor's ship while searching for crew mates."

"Crew mates?" Juliet asked with a smile, "What would a boy like you be doing looking for crew mates." She said before her eyes suddenly widen as she realized who her truly was, "Y...you can't be."

Kaizen jabbed his thumb into his chest, "I'm the pirate that will find the One Piece, and become the world's next Pirate King!"

* * *

**I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, please review, for I do need the constructive criticism to better my later works. Also about accepting OC's, I won't place the apps here, for fear that my story may be taken down, so they'll be up on my profile. **

**Oh, and I'm not sure if I should be taking island submission(an idea I got from CSpacian), so contact me, via PM's or reviews, if you feel I should put an app up for that.**


	2. Dead Ships

**Chapter 2: Dead Ships**

The duo had been at sea for hours since they met, and Juliet positioned herself so her torso hung out of the edge of the boat, allowing her to watch as schools of fish slowly swam by, _"Damn I don't know what to do."_ She thought as she watched the sea ripple. _"If I try to escape, who knows how far I'll have to swim, but if I stay any longer he might consider me a part of his crew."_ She turned her head towards Kaizen who seemed to be lying on top of the shark.

Kaizen had thought about playing more games with the shark, though every time he brought it up the shark always freaked out, and nearly sunk the boat. "I'm bored!" He complained as he started patting the top of the shark's head with the palms of his hands, "I thought finding crew members would be easier, and faster than this, but so far I've got none." Juliet's eyes widened at his remark.

"Hey, I'm a part of your crew!" She exclaimed angrily, "I mean it's not like I want to be on it, but I know you want me on it. Then again, who wouldn't want a beautiful woman like me on their crew."

Kaizen turned his head towards Juliet, "You can't be on my crew." He said with a frown, "You're too strange."

The sentence struck Juliet like lightning, "St...Strange?!" She exclaimed while twitching in anger, "What the hell do you mean by me being 'too strange', have you seen yourself lately?!" Juliet clenched her fist at the thought, _"Me, strange?" _She thought before shaking her head, _"No, he's just lying, he has to be."_

Kaizen broke out into laughter, and was about to speak up again before noticing the shark beginning to shake frantically. "What's wrong Sharky?" He asked as the multiple schools of fish that swam by the boat quickly scurried away as if they were running away from something.

Juliet turned her head before widening her eyes, "Uh K...Kaizen I think you need to see this." She said frighteningly as she pointed her index finger towards a monstrous tsunami heading straight towards them.

Kaizen turned his head towards the tsunami, and smiled. "Well I guess we'll just have to get out of here, isn't that right Sharky." He said as he turned his head back towards the fish, who floated frozen with fear. "Well then, I've got nothing." Kaizen said with a shrug.

"Don't just give up you idiot!" Juliet yelled angrily, "Our lives are on the li..." Her voice was drowned out as the tsunami engulfed the duo, sending them deep into the ocean.

* * *

"Jethro!" A stout man dressed in overalls yelled as he walked around the island looking for the boy, "Where the hell are you!?" The man then spotted The Purple Cork, the Gonro's local bar, and quickly walked into it.

Gonro is an island known for the mysterious ship graveyard that made up the northern half of its terrain. No one really knew how so many ships ended up beached on the island, but what they did know is that the graveyard wasn't safe for the likes of a normal citizen, and that they were warned to stay out of there.

As the stout man entered the bar he quickly walked towards the counter before ringing the bell several times, "Maya Velardi, I know you're back there!" He exclaimed catching the attention of all the patrons in the establishment.

"Who the hell are you, and what do you want with Maya?" A large shirtless man with a flintlock at his waist asked as he slammed his hand on the counter in front of the stout man, "If you want her then have to get to the end of the line, because I've already called first dibs."

The stout man gulped before examining the patrons of the bar. _"What was I thinking walking into an establishment like this?!"_ He thought as he caught sight of each patron. Some were as large as giants while others were as slim as snake.

"Knock it of Lionel, or your next drink will be double the price." A voice threatened as a woman walked towards the two. The woman was dressed casually, wearing a loose black shirt, jeans, and white shoes.

Lionel smiled wickedly before placing his hand on his gun holster, "I think I misheard you Maya, did you say that I'll get free drinks for life, and that'll you'll go on a date with me?" He asked before gripping onto his flintlock.

Maya chuckled, "No I think I was the one who misheard you." She said before quickly grabbing the flintlock taped under the counter, and aiming it at Lionel's head. "Did you say that you would stop bothering my friend, and return to your seat?"

The other patrons grew silent for a moment before bursting out into laughter, "She sure showed you." A slim pirate teased before patting Lionel on the back. "Guess they don't call her Maya the Fearless for nothing."

Lionel gritted his teeth, he couldn't let anyone see it, but he was furious. _"I can't believe what just happened, a woman showing me up?"_ He thought before removing his hand from his gun holster, and returning to his seat.

The stout man chuckled as he watched Maya re-tape the gun under the counter. "Now I know why I never messed with you." He joked before clearing his throat, "Anyways, do you, by any chance, know where Lilja is?"

"Lily?" Maya asked before wiping the counter with a dishrag, "She said she was going off to fix a few sinks, and toilets." Once she had finished wiping off the counter, Maya pulled out a cup, and began pouring beer into it. "What do you need from her Ashter?"

Ashter furrowed his brow, "Well Jethro disappeared, and I always catch the two of them sneaking around the island." He said before widening his eyes, "What if..."

"The day Lily becomes interested in romance is the day her father will come back for me." Maya interrupted before sliding the cup towards Ashter, "Now that will be 250 beli."

* * *

A pale boy with buzzed blonde hair raced through a forest of beached ships holding multiple screws, and a ship part. He was dressed in a white T-shirt with a large oil stain on the right shoulder, khaki cargo shorts, and gray, mud covered boots. "We shouldn't be here Lily." He said as he continued to race past the ships, "We might run into some bad people."

A tan freckled covered girl with short choppy cut hair raced behind the boy, holding a hammer in one hand, and a saw in another. She wore a dirty, brownish-grey tank top, large low-riding brown pants which tucked into black mud covered boots, and an orange jacket wrapped around her waist. "Didn't you see that large wave that just came through?" Lily asked as she raced beside the boy, "There's no way anyone could have survived it, but if you're too much of a chicken Jethro, you can always go back."

Jethro's face froze, "I'm not a chicken." He said angrily before slightly speeding up, "Its just that if they catch us here, who knows what will happen."

Lily sped up to the point where she was running ahead of Jethro, "Like I said earlier, you can always go back." She said with a slight grin "Just know that when my boat is done, I'm not taking your family with me when we escape from them."

Jethro's face dropped at the comment, "I have to get out of here while I still can." He said while slowing down to a walk, "Besides, you need me to finish this boat, without me it'll take another year just to even get half done."

"You know I can always get one of the other guys in town, and have them help me." Lily said as she slowed down to a walk before reaching the shore. If she was lucky the large wave from earlier would have brought in a large pirate ship, but that's not what she found. "Look over there, what's that?" She asked while pointing towards three unknown objects a good distance away from them.

Jethro cupped his hands over his eyes to get a better look, "I don't know, but it doesn't look like any boat I've ever seen." He then slowly walked towards the unknown objects before widening his eyes, "P...p...pirates!" He exclaimed before backing up.

"How do you know their pirates, they could just be lost adventurers." Lily said before walking towards the unknown objects, "A boy, a girl, and a shark." She said as she began examining their structure, "They girl looks too soft to be a pirate, and the boy is probably barely older than I am."

"Well unlike you, I don't deal with pirates on a regular basis." Jethro said before spotting one of the figures squirm. "Damn, one of them is awake; we have to get out of here."

* * *

Juliet slowly opened her eyes, "I'm still alive?" She muttered to herself before spotting her so-called hero, and his shark friend unconscious on the ground. "I can't believe we actually survived that thing!"

Kaizen slowly opened his eyes before looking up at Juliet, "Can't you see some of us are still trying to sleep here?" He asked before closing his eyes, "Some people just don't have manners."

"Manners? I'm getting a talk about manners from a pirate?!" Juliet exclaimed only to be responded by snores, "Wake up you idiot!" With a swift kick to the gut, Juliet sent Kaizens flying towards a squirming Sharky. "And don't think I don't see you two!" She exclaimed while turning her head towards Jethro, and Lily, "Where the hell are we!?"

Jethro cringed at the sound of Juliet's voice, "Don't answer, if we run away now we can sti..."

"This is Gonro Island, South Blue!" Lily answered causing Jethro to collapse onto the ground, "Now who are you guys?"

Kaizen jumped up onto his feet before jamming his thumb to his chest, "I'm Kaizen D. Leo, and I'm a pirate!" He exclaimed before pointing his finger towards Juliet, "This is Julio, and she's my lackey."

"Julio, and Juliet don't even sound anything like each other you dumbass!" Juliet exclaimed furiously, cutting Kaizen off, and causing Jethro to cringe once again, "And I'm not your damn lackey!"

Lily pointed towards the now still body of Sharky, "And what about your dead shark, who's he?" She asked causing Kaizen to turn around.

"Sharky?" Kaizen asked before looking back at the shark, "I don't really care for him." He said calmly causing the shark's eyes to widen. It was sure that if it faked its death, Kaizen would be at an emotional state, and he would get the chance to finally devour him.

Lily nodded, "Well you don't seem too bad to me, so you can come back with us." She offered causing Jethro to collapse once more. "But if my mom asks, you are adventurers who need a place to stay for a few days."

Jethro quickly pulled Lily to the side, "Are you crazy?!" He whispered as he looked back, and forth from the pirates to Lily, "Are you seriously going to let pirates follow you home, and sleep in the same house your mom sleeps?"

"I've been around pirates my whole life, and these guys don't seem bad." Lily replied, "Also think about it, if we start taking in pirates before the Federation gets to them, then maybe we might have a chance to retake the island, and finally drive them away."

Jethro sighed, he knew it was great idea, but it had too many flaws in it, "Pirates are dangerous, and can't be trusted." He said before folding his arms, "I can't let you risk the lives of all of our fellow citizens for some dumb idea you had."

Lily gave Jethro a sly smile before looking back at the pirates, "So are you coming or not?!" She yelled causing both Kaizen, and Juliet to race towards them, "You see Jethro, I have faith that these pirates have good intentions, because unlike you, I deal with pirates on a regular basis." With that Lily walked back into the forest of beached ships leaving Jethro there standing dumbfounded.

* * *

Not too far from the group, a skinny man was perched inside of the crow's nest of a beached ship watching the group, "I was right, Maya's daughter has be running through our territory." He said as he put his binoculars down, and turned his head towards a large silhouette, "Should we take care of them now, or maybe capture the girl, and use her as bait to draw in Maya?"

The silhouette scratched his chin before slightly chuckling, "Leave her be for now, I'll handle her little rebellion attempts when I get the chance." He said as the sun shone on top of him revealing himself to be Lionel, "Now time for more important matters." Lionel grabbed a sword from the ground, and sliced off his right forearm, "I need the enhancement stat!" He exclaimed as blood began to gush from his freshly cut wound, Lionel quickly turned his head towards a cage holding a slightly injured ferret wearing a black and red top hat, and an open black vest. "We have to get ready; he'll be coming for this rodent soon that is if he isn't here already."

* * *

**Credits for both Maya, and Lily Velardi go to Muse of Space, also I'm still in need of OC's so don't stop sending them in. **


	3. Lightweight

**Chapter 3: Lightweight**

The room was dark, emanated solely by the scorching flames from outside of the building, though it was the screams echoing from outside that caused Kaizen to wake with a start,_ "Where the hell am I?"_ He asked himself as he tried to stand, but failed as the handcuff, mysteriously wrapped around his left wrist, ceased his advancement. "And what time is it?" Kaizen slowly turned his head examining the room, it looked familiar, but what caught his attention was a mysterious hum coming from across the room. "Hello?" He called out causing the humming to stop.

"Kaizen, are you awake yet?" A voice asked causing Kaizen's head to ache as the memories from earlier that day began to rush in.

_[Begin Flashback]_

Juliet's eyes widened as Lily led the group out of the ship graveyard, and into the town. "It seems like it's been forever since I've last seen a form of human civilization." She said as she turned her head left and right, examining the contents of the town, it wasn't nearly as large as where she came from, but those days were long behind her.

"Well we're out of the graveyard, so I think I'll be heading home now." Jethro said before slowly straying away from the group, he wanted nothing to do with the pirates, and if staying away from Lily the next few days would grant him that wish, he would. "Oh, and I don't think I'll be able to go scavenging with you for the rest of the month, my dad said he needs me home… uh cleaning." He lied before running off.

Lily knew he was lying but it didn't matter, she had pirates now, and two pirates exceeded on Jethro in her mind. "Okay," Lily said as she turned her head towards both Kaizen, and Juliet, "Now when you meet my mom the story is that you're both adventurers who suddenly wandered out of the ship graveyard. I unexpectedly ran into you, and decided to bring you both home with m...where the hell are you going?" She asked as Kaizen slowly walked off, away from the group, towards a large crowd gathered around the town square.

"What's going on?" Kaizen asked, as he reached the crowd, before catching sight of a skinny man rapidly firing his flintlock at what seemed to be an even skinnier street performer with a metallic gray colored abdomen. The skinny man firing the gun had long shaggy brown hair, an open brown vest, jean shorts, and no shoes. The skinnier man being fired at wore an open purple vest stopping below the rib cage, slightly baggy purple pants with a tattered white sash around the waist, purple jester shoes with silver bells on the tip, and a strange white helmet that completely covered his face, barring his eyes.

As the man fired his last round, the street performer fell face first onto the ground causing the entire crowd to gasp. "I thought he said that he would show us a trick...dying isn't a trick, anyone can do that!" One spectator exclaimed in rage, "He's lucky he's already dead because I would have killed him for wasting my ti..." Before he could finish, the street performer did a back flip on the ground, and landed on his feet. "Ta-da!" A notepad read as the street performer held it into the air.

The crowd, including Kaizen, cheered as the street performer bowed to his audience before writing something on his notepad, "Does anyone else want to if they can hurt me?" It read as the street performer held it into the air, abruptly ceasing the cheering.

"I do!" Kaizen exclaimed causing all of the heads to turn towards his direction as he walked through the crowd, towards the street performer.

"He's just a kid, there's no way he can hurt him." One man murmured as he watched Kaizen walk in front of the street performer.

"Ready when you are." A notepad read as the performer held it up into the air.

Kaizen smiled widely as he got into his fighting stance, the slightly tan skin on his right arm slowly transformed into wood causing the audience to gasp, and the street performer to widen his eyes.

"He's a devil fruit user!" A man exclaimed as he watched Kaizen charge towards the performer. "Someone go call it in."

As Kaizen neared his target a hand grabbed him by the wrist, and tugged him backwards, almost causing him to lose his balance and fall. "Come on Kaizen, we've got to go." Juliet said sternly as she dragged him away from the crowd, who booed her with every step.

"Let me fight him, I can do it, I can hurt him!" Kaizen whined as Juliet continued to drag him, "All you care about is yourself, you selfish witch."

"Shut the hell up, we've got more important stuff to do." Juliet said without looking back at Kaizen, "Anyways, you can fight him after I find a nice comfortable bed to sleep on." After hearing this Kaizen continued to complain as Juliet dragged him away towards Lily.

The street performer stared at the duo as the left before scratching his chin,_ "It's strange, who would have thought that there would be a devil fruit user on this island."_ He thought as he slyly smiled under his helmet. _"I guess that just makes things a lot more interesting."_

* * *

_"For once I should have listened to Jethro."_ Lily thought as she continued to lead both Kaizen and Juliet towards The Purple Cork, _"A devil fruit user on this island will draw the Federation's attention like sugar draws sugar ants."_ Upon reaching the bar, Lily outstretched her arm before turning her head back towards the duo, "Well here we are."

Juliet's face dropped as she caught sight of The Purple Cork, "A bar?" She asked disappointingly, "When you told us that you would give us a place to stay I thought it would at least be a tavern."

"You should be lucky that I even decided to take you guys in." Lily said before checking behind both of her shoulders, and leaning in for a whisper, "The fact that one of you is a devil fruit changes everything, if the Federation found out that I was harboring a devil fruit user who knows what would happen."

Juliet raised an eyebrow, "Federation?" She asked causing Lily to slowly nod.

"Yeah, they're..." Before Lily could finish, Kaizen raced away from the group again causing her to give out a large sigh.

"A bar means alcohol, and alcohol means...whiskey!" He exclaimed before sprinting into the bar, "Give me two shots of your finest whiskey!" Kaizen yelled out causing every head, including Maya's, to turn towards him.

"Who the hell are you?" Maya asked before spotting her daughter walk in behind Juliet, and sighing. "Lily, please tell me this nutcase isn't with you." She begged causing Lily to nervously smile, "Damn it Lily, what happened to Jethro?"

"That's a long story, but for now..." Lily quickly used both of her hands to make the letter D, then the letter F causing Maya to quickly reach for the gun taped under the counter, and fire into the air catching the attention of all of the patrons.

"We're closing early today, so get out unless one of you wants to leave here with a chunk of their head missing!" Maya exclaimed as she quickly fired her flintlock at one of the patrons, slightly grazing his face. "Next time I won't miss." Maya warned causing the patrons to quickly scurry out of the building, nearly trampling over Kaizen and his group in the process.

"So which one is it?" Maya asked before looking back and forth from Juliet to Kaizen, "Which one is the devil fruit user?" On cue both Juliet, and Lily took a step back, "So you're him huh, what devil fruit do you have?" Maya asked, _"Are devil fruit user naturally this...weird."_

Kaizen folding his arms before turning his head, "I'm not telling you anything without my two shots of whiskey." He replied causing Maya to drop her flintlock, and grab him by the collar of his shirt.

"This isn't some kind of joke!" Maya exclaimed angrily before clenching her fist, "Now tell me what devil fruit powers you possess unless you want to be filled with bullet holes the moment you leave here."

"Why is everyone here so obsessed over the fact that Kaizen is a devil fruit user?" Juliet asked, "And who is this so-called Federation that I keep hearing about?"

Upon hearing her question, Maya let go of Kaizen's shirt before glancing towards her daughter, "Lily go keep watch, if you see anyone coming towards this place call it out." She said causing Lily to nod, and walk over towards the window. Maya then took out two shot glasses before pouring whiskey into them, and sliding them towards Kaizen, "Drink up you brat, but get ready to talk later." Kaizen smiled widely before chugging the whiskey in the first shot glass down his throat. Maya then turned her head towards Juliet, "Now to answer your question I must ask you one. Have you ever heard of the South Blue Pirate Federation?" She asked causing Juliet to raise an eyebrow.

"No I haven't heard of them." Juliet answered, "Well I don't think I have anyways."

"Well basically every man you've seen since stepping foot into this town is apart of this oppressive group of pirates." Maya explained.

"Wait." Juliet interrupted, "What does this have to do with everyone freaking out over a devil fruit user?"

"I'm getting there." Maya answered slightly irritated before continuing with where she left off, "Last month a mysterious man by the name of Leon washed up onto this island with a ferret on his shoulder. Like what he does to most of the pirates that wash up onto this island, the leader of the Federation desperately tried to recruit him into their ranks, but failed utterly since Leon had a distaste for working under anyone who was weaker than he. Insulted, the captain challenged Leon to a fight, but lost after realizing that Leon possessed devil fruit powers. Upon seeing their leader's defeat, the rest of the Federation kidnapped Leon's ferret, and used it as blackmail to drive him away from the island forever."

"I think I get it now." Juliet said as Maya finished, "Everyone on this island freaks out when they hear about a devil fruit user, because they don't know if its Leon or not." She then turned her head towards Kaizen, and was about to speak up before noticing that he had passed out on the table, drunk. "How the hell do you pass out from two shots?!" She exclaimed before coming to her senses, "Wait, are you even old enough to drink!?" Right as Juliet finished her sentence, the door suddenly blasted open sending Lily flying back into the shelves of alcohol, and sliding down, unconscious, to the floor, blood covering her back.

"Tsk tsk tsk." A familiar voice said as eight men, all wearing tattered clothing and armed with either flintlock, swords, or hand cannons, entered the bar through the smoke, now residing where the door once was. "Don't you know that harboring a devil fruit user on my island is a serious offence?" The familiar voice asked as the smoke cleared up revealing Lionel standing a few paces behind the eight men. He wore black boots with a golden buckle, tattered blue pants, and a white shirt partially hidden along with his right arm behind his pirate coat.

"L...Lionel?" Maya asked, terror in her eyes, "What the hell are you doing here?" She thought she would never see the day when Lionel terribly frightened her, but after seeing what his men did to her child, she didn't know what other emotion to feel, angry or terrified. _"Snap out of it Maya."_She thought, _"You child desperately needs you, and you're just standing, petrified with fear like a rabbit in front of a pack of wolves."_

Lionel simply chuckled, he was expecting the frightened reaction from the woman who had thought that she recently embarrassed him, "If I'm correct, for a matter as big as harboring a devil fruit user, the leader of the South Blue Pirate Federation should make an appearance."

Upon hearing his words, Maya's eyes quickly widened, "There is no way you're the leader of the Federation!" She exclaimed, "I've never once seen you be treated with respect from the other pirates."

"It's called acting." Lionel explained with a wide smile, "The time you pulled your gun on me, I could have easily had every pirate in the building gun you and your little friend down, but I didn't for the sake of keeping my identity as leader of the Federation secret to outsiders." He then began to walk back, and forth before turning his eyes back towards Maya, "Well I guess the only thing I didn't fake was my love for you." Lionel confessed, "So maybe if you hand over the devil fruit user, beg for mercy, and go on a date with me, I'll let this offence slide."

Maya bowed her head in defeat before falling to her knees, concealing her behind the counter. "Lionel, please don't..." She started, "Leave too much blood on the floor when I shoot you down." Maya quickly rose up, flintlock in hand, before firing at Lionel, who easily deflected it with his new, enhanced right arm. Two inches below where his elbow ended, replacing Lionel's forearm, was a bluish-grayish pillar leading to the bluish-grayish hook that replaced his hand.

"Do you like it?" Lionel asked with a slight chuckle in his voice, "It took a good amount of money, but I bought this molded sea stone from some crooked marines." He then rose his right arm into the air causing the right side of his pirate coat to slip off of his shoulder. "Now men grab Maya, the girl, and the sleeping drunk." Lionel ordered causing the men to disperse.

Juliet silently panicked as the men neared her, _"If they grab Kaizen then the chance of us getting out of here is close to none."_ She thought before standing up, "Why take my useless companion when I'm the devil fruit user you want." Juliet said causing Lionel to shrug.

"Well if that's what you want." Lionel said before quickly snatching one of his men's flintlock, and firing a bullet at the back of Kaizen's head, "Wish granted, now men take these two ladies back to the hideout." He ordered as he exited the bar leaving both Kaizen, and Lily there unconscious.

_[Flashback End]_

Kaizen's head flung forward as the memories ceased its streaming in his head, "Have your memories returned yet?" The mysterious voice asked as Kaizen rubbed the back of his head before finding the bullet, pulling it out, the tip covered in a thick yellow liquid, and throwing it off to the side.

"Yeah they have." Kaizen replied, "But that doesn't explain who you are, where I am, why I'm handcuffed to the wall, or where my friends are!" He exclaimed causing the voice to chuckle.

"Maya, and the girl were taken by Lionel, the leader of the Federation, while Lily is safe here with me at my hideout." The voice informed, "She advised me to handcuff you to the wall, knowing that you would probably do something rash the moment you woke up."

Kaizen clenched his fist before tugging his wrist, trying to free himself, "That still doesn't tell me who you are!" He exclaimed as he continued trying to break free.

"Do you not remember our earlier meeting?" The voice asked, "Well I guess it's partially my fault for not properly introducing myself." The indestructible street performer from earlier stepped out of the darkness, and into the flickering light of the window. "I'm Leon Lafoyette." He said calmly before tossing a key towards Kaizen, "And I'm going to help you get your friends back."

* * *

**Credits for Leon Lafoyette go to Barrett M107, also I've decided not to use Island Submissions(unless someone really wants it), thank you CSpacian for stopping by, and informing me of your results, it saved me the time of making an application no one was going to use.**


	4. The Hideout

**Chapter 4: The Hideout**

The air filled with screams, and the floor stained with blood as both the natives and the Federation began their slaughter on each other. "What the hell is going on out there?" Kaizen asked as he freed himself with the key Leon gave him, and glanced over towards the window. He wasn't sure how long he had been out for, but seeing how it was already dark he knew it had been for at least a few hours.

Leon didn't know how he would answer the question, he only let others hear his voice when he felt like they were worthy enough, yet he had already spoken to Kaizen without properly testing his worthiness. _"I'll just have to stick with my traditional method."_ Leon thought as he quickly took out his notepad and marker before scribbling his reply on it, and sliding it towards Kaizen for him to read. "It seems that this last month Maya has been secretly forming an attack force with her fellow natives to one day rebel against the Federation, and reclaim the island for themselves."

Kaizen scratched his head as he finished reading the reply, _"I wonder why he couldn't have just said it instead of putting it onto paper."_ He thought before his face brightened with realization, _"I know, he's probably trying to start a secret silent game so that he could win without me knowing it."_ Kaizen quickly snatched the marker out of Leon's hand before scribbling down a sentence on the notepad, "You probably think you're slick, well you're not going to win this silent game."

Leon was confused at the reply, from the looks of it, it didn't seem like Kaizen was serious to save his friends at all, "You do know that Maya and that girl being captured is all your fault right?" Leon asked causing Kaizen to simply nod, " So why is it that you aren't the slightest bit worried for them?"

"I'm not worrying, because I'm confident in my abilities, and I'm certain I'll get them both back unharmed." Kaizen answered with a wide smile, "Of course I'll have to kick their captor's ass in the process, but it'll all be worth it when we all come back to the bar and enjoy a few shots of whiskey together."

Leon raised an eyebrow, though it was unseen because of his helmet, _"Is this kid serious?"_ He thought while reminiscing about his happy childhood days in the circus, _"Well I guess he's just like I was back before I took my first bite of the real world."_ Leon then simply sighed acting as if the reply didn't phase him, "Whatever you say." He said as the sound of a door slamming echoed through the air, _"Strange, I would like to say that was Lily who just left, but why would she leave without taking this fool with her?"_

"Well then what are we waiting for?" Kaizen asked as he outstretched his arms into the air, "Let's go out there, and kick some Federation ass!"

* * *

Lily quickly scurried behind a building, "I'm lucky I got that strange street performer to handcuff Kaizen while my wounds eased up." She thought, "Hopefully that idiot stays knocked out, so he doesn't interfere with my rescue mission." Lily then raced towards a one story house with boarded windows, making sure to not be seen by any of the men currently fighting, before knocking on the door.

"Wh...who is it?" A frightened male voice asked after the sound of footsteps coming towards the door, "I...if you're here on means of the fighting going on just know that we are taking no part in the skirmish, and we'll gladly respect whichever faction wins."

Lily simply chuckled, she could practically here the person inside quiver in fear as he awaited a response, "I thought war brought out the bravery in the people involved, but I guess some chickens will never change." She joked causing the quivering to stop, and the door to slightly open.

"L...Lily, is that you?" The still frightened male voice asked as his eye peeked through the crack before fully opening the door revealing Jethro standing in the doorway, "It is you!" He exclaimed with a wide smile on his face, "Whoa, I thought you were captured alongside your mother."

Lily suddenly bowed her head at the mention of her mom before clenching her fist, "You were right about warning me to not take in those pirates." She confessed before looking back up at her friend, "But I guess the past can't be undone, so I'm going to rescue my mom without them and I'll need your help to do it."

Jethro's eyes widened at the offer, Lily might have been his friend, but that didn't mean he was going to risk his life just to save her mother. "Hell no!" He exclaimed with what seemed to be no hesitation, "I'm not getting any bit involved with this stupid rebellion!" Jethro stepped back from the doorway into his house, "Well if that was all you need then..." He was about to close the door in Lily's face before she stepped into the doorway stopping him.

There were two things about Jethro that Lily was certain of, one: he was coward, and two: he was extremely gullible. _"If he won't help me on his own I'll have to exploit his weaknesses."_ She thought as she put on a face of genuine desperation, "Listen Jethro, I really need your help, so how about we make a deal." Lily offered causing Jethro to raise an eyebrow, "If you help me save my mom, I'll allow you on my boat without you performing any further services to me."

Jethro was silent, he didn't want to help but the offer was enticing, and by the look on her face he could tell she was desperate. After letting out a sigh, Jethro finally said, "Fine, just tell me what you need me to do, and I'll help you with it." Upon hearing his response, Lily barged into his house, slyly smiling at how well her plan had worked. _"I already know I'm going to regret doing this."_Jethro thought as he walked in after her.

Lily briskly walked towards the living room before taking a seat at a small round table in front of the fireplace, where a rusted hand-cannon hung over its mantel,"Before we can start this rescue mission, we'll have to know where to look." Lily said as she pulled out a map of the island with a red circle drawn in the center of the ship graveyard,"Okay, we've practically explored the whole ship graveyard except for this circled area."

Jethro walked over towards the table, and glanced over towards the circled area before widening his eyes, he knew exactly why they never went near that area, "Every time we would get close to that part of the graveyard, we would always see the same group of roaming pirates." Jethro said as he took a seat next to Lily, "Don't you remember when we jointly decided to stay away from that area at all times?"

Lily simply nodded, "Though if you think about it, it's strange for that group to be at that same location at the same time every single day unless they weren't a random group of pirates, and were actually sentries for the Federation's hideout." She said before placing her finger on the circled area, "Now if this place actually is the Federation's hideout then it won't be a walk in the park breaking into the area without a distraction." Lily then glanced behind her towards the hand-cannon, "Hey Jethro, have you ever fired one of those before?" She asked causing Jethro to turn his head also.

"N...wait, don't tell me." Jethro replied as he realized Lily's plan in making him the bait, "First of all I don't even know if that weapon can still fire, it's my dad's from back in his days as a marine, but more importantly making me the distraction is like sending me to my death! It's bad enough that I agreed to help you, so why can't you be the distraction?"

Lily sighed with relief, "Thank goodness, I was going to offer myself as the one to enter the Federation hideout, and be at risk of getting found out." She said causing Jethro to once again quiver with fear, "Am I glad I'm the distraction now, or..." Before Lily could finish her sentence, Jethro quickly raced over towards the hand-cannon, and grabbed it from the mantel.

"Now how do you want me to distract those pirates?" Jethro asked, still slightly quivering, causing Lily to slyly smile.

* * *

Deep inside of the ship graveyard in a clearing, a tied up Juliet panted as water dripped down her wet head onto the ground, "Until you give me your devil fruit powers, we'll do this all day." Lionel warned as he watched one of his henchmen grab Juliet by the back of her head, and dunk her into the water.

"Stop it Lionel!" A tied up Maya yelled as she watched Juliet being tortured in horror, "It's impossible to transfer devil fruit powers to another person, so just stop hurting her or you'll eventually kill her!"

"Liar!" Lionel exclaimed angrily before glaring over towards the bartender, "Back in the days of the second Pirate King there lived a man who had obtained the powers of more than one devil fruit, so I know that her powers can be given to another somehow!" He was desperate, with half of his men out fighting with the natives of the island, Lionel was afraid that Leon would just swoop in and kill him while his back was turned.

After a minute of silence Lionel's henchman let go of Juliet's head, allowing her to bring it out of the water. She was in pain, her wet face didn't show it but tears were streaming down her cheeks from everything she's had to endure. _"Damn, I wish that wave of courage that swept over me earlier had never arrived."_ Juliet thought as she began to pant once more, _"Though if Kaizen were stuck in here, he would have already broken out of these ropes, and defeated this psychopath,"_ On cue, Lionel walked up to her and perched his hand on her wet head.

"So you still refuse to give me your powers." Lionel said before removing his hand off of Juliet's head, and glancing over towards his henchman, "Lengthen the amount of time you keep her underwater, maybe she'll talk when she's barely clinging onto her life." The henchman once again grabbed the back of Juliet's head before dunking her back into the water causing Maya to slightly cringe.

_"I have to find a way to get to her, maybe if I'm free I'll be able to take on Lionel."_ Maya thought as she took her eyes away from the torture Juliet was undergoing, and began to search for an item that would help her free herself from her bonds. After a while, her eyes quickly locked onto a rusted motor part not to far from her,_"That'll have to do."_ Maya thought before turning her head back towards Lionel, "But I'll need a sort of distraction if I want to use it without being see..." Before she could finish her whispered sentence a loud thundering noise emanated from south of their location.

_"He's here already?"_ Lionel thought while silently panicking,_"Shit, and before I could get this stupid girl to give me her powers too."_ He then turned his head towards his henchman, "Let go of the girl, and head over towards the sound of that explosion!" Lionel command before clenching his fist, "And tell that to all of the others." He then began pacing back and forth before eventually leaving the two women, _"I have to get that stupid rodent quick, before he can get to me."_ Lionel thought as he briskly walked east of the clearing towards the injured ferret's cage, _"Hopefully I can still use him as leverage against that demon."_

* * *

Both Kaizen and Leon raced towards the south entrance of the hideout, "Are you sure the sound of the explosion came from over here," Kaizen asked while both running, and examining the area at the same time, "Because I've yet to see any enemies, and I'm just aching for a good fight."

Leon simply nodded, not wanting to talk any longer, before stopping and pointing towards a faint object. He quickly took out his notepad, and marker before scribbling down a sentence, "I see someone over there." The notepad read causing Kaizen to squint his eyes in the distance before smiling as he recognized who the faint object was.

"Hey Jethro!" Kaizen yelled out as he waved his arms in the air, trying to catch the boy's attention before noticing him firing cannon balls at nearby ships. "What are you doing over there, I thought you were supposed to be the cowardly one!" Jethro didn't respond to Kaizen yelling, obviously not wanting to associate himself with the pirate that had gotten Maya captured, as he continued to fire out cannon balls from his hand-cannon. "That's strange, I always thought I had a loud voice." Kaizen said while scratching his head in confusion, "Maybe we should get closer for a better look." He then raced off causing Leon to sigh, and run off after him.

Closer towards the south entrance of the hideout, Jethro had already begun his distraction by continuously firing cannon balls before hearing his name called multiple times._"Damn it."_ He thought as he recognized the annoying voice from the male pirate he had met earlier on the shore, _"Of course that idiot had to come to me, maybe if I ignore him he'll go away."_ Jethro smiled as he realized how brilliant his plan was before hearing his name called once again causing him to angrily turn his head towards Kaizen, "Can't you see that I'm trying to focus on something, I don't need your constant yelling ruining my aim!"

"There he is!" A voice yelled as multiple Federation members raced toward Jethro, "That's the prick that's been firing on our hideout!" Jethro turned his head before widening his eyes as he spotted the dozens of Federation members racing towards him armed with flintlocks, hand-cannons, and cutlasses.

Jethro's stood jaw dropped as the wave of Federation pirates neared him, "That sly bastard Lily tricked me." He muttered as snot slowly crept down his nose, "I'm the one that has to deal with all of the scary Federation pirates." He quickly performed a 180 degree spin before racing towards Kaizen and Leon with tears streaming down his eyes, "I'm sorry I yelled at you, now please save me from these terrible monsters!" He begged as reached the pair, and hid behind Kaizen in fear.

Kaizen laughed before pulling his arm back, "Finally!" He exclaimed, " I've been waiting to fight something since I wok..." Before he could finish Leon outstretched his arm in front of Kaizen, handing him a note, and cutting him off.

"We can't waste all of our time fighting these guy." The first sentence of the note read, "You take the coward, and head into the hideout, my Tetsu Tetsu no mi should be more than enough to handle these little followers." Leon then stepped up in front of the group before transforming the skin on his right arm into iron, and racing towards the nearest pirate, "_**Single Bone!**_" He exclaimed as his knuckles collided with center of the pirate's face, sending him flying back into a crowd of other pirates, and knocking them all to the ground. "Now go!"

Kaizen stood in awe of Leon's powerful attack before quickly grabbing Jethro's wrist, and racing towards the south entrance of the hideout.

* * *

_"Jethro did it!"_ Lily thought with a smile as she raced through the north entrance of the hideout, _"I've yet to even smell a single Federation member let alone see one."_ Though as she continued to run through the hideout, Lily had to admit that it was much more different from the rest of the ship graveyard. The larger beached ships all had human-sized holes embedded into them, and seemed to be makeshift living quarters for the Federation members. While the piles of ships all had canteens, and pairs of binoculars stored inside of the highest boat which seemed to create makeshift lookout points.

"Strange, the Federation seems to have made their own little society inside of this place." Lily said to herself, "Yet for some reason they have to keep barging into our town, and drink up all of the alcohol at my mom's bar." She then raced into a clearing before noticing a now freed Maya trying to cut a panting Juliet's wrist bonds with a rusted motor part. "Mom!" Lily exclaimed catching the attention of both females.

"L...Lily? How the hell did you manage to get into this place?" Maya asked in a hushed tone before quickly cutting Juliet's ropes, and racing towards her daughter to embrace her,"And that explosion that occurred earlier, did it have something to do with you?" Maya was confused, she knew her daughter was a troublemaker, but to fool the Federation and sneak inside of their hideout undetected, she began to wonder just how troublesome Lily truly was.

"Also what about Kaizen, is he somewhere behind you?" Juliet asked with a pant as she stood up, and stared at the path which Lily had ran in from. Even though she saw him as a childish idiot, Juliet had to admit that Kaizen was pretty strong, and without him there was no chance of them getting away from that psychopath the Federation called a leader.

Remembering Kaizen, Lily let go of her mother before bowing her head, "Jethro and I didn't need him to break into this place, so I didn't tell him I was coming." She said softly as she clenched her fist, "Besides, he was the reason you guys were taken anyways, so I thought that bringing him along would just further complicate things."

Juliet's eyes widened as she began to fully comprehend what Lily was saying to her, "Wait, if you didn't bring him along with you, then how the hell are we going to get out of here?!" She exclaimed before hearing footsteps making their way towards the group from the east.

"Who said anything about you leaving this place?" Lionel asked as he walked in holding a battered ferret, who wore a black and red top hat and an open vest, before catching sight of Lily. "Hmm, so it was Maya's little brat that caused those explosions just to come visit her mommy." He slowly walked towards the group of girls before dropping the ferret onto the ground, "You don't know how relieved I am to know that it was you that attacked my hideout, so for that I'll have to repay you." Lionel insisted before racing towards Lily with his sea stone right forearm and hook outstretched, "With death!" With no time to react, Lily turned her head away from Lionel as both Kaizen and Jethro raced into the clearing, too late to stop the attack.

Lionel's sea stone hook easily tore through the flesh of the lower chest before quickly resurfacing itself outside of the mid-back. Blood began to spew out of the wound as the group, barring Lily, stared with wide eyes. A few seconds after the attack, Lily slowly opened her eyes before realizing she was still unscathed, _"D...did he miss?"_ She thought before turning her head towards the real victim of the attack, "M...mom?" Lily whimpered at the sight of Maya standing in front of her with her arms outstretched at her sides, and Lionel's sea stone hook sticking out of her back.

* * *

**So I guess this means they all won't have a few shots of whiskey with each other...too soon? Anyways prepare for Kaizen's retaliation, I don't know how it'll turn out, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see next chapter.**


	5. Realization

**Chapter 5: Realization**

Lionel's eyes widened as he stared at Maya's frigid body, "N...no not you...I...I didn't want to kill you." He said frighteningly as he removed his hook from her body, allowing her to limply fall onto the ground, before turning his head towards Lily in anger, "Look at what you've made me do, you were the only one who was supposed to die!" Lionel exclaimed before raising his right arm, "I...I'll kill you!" He quickly lowered his hook towards Lily before his cheek suddenly caved in as a wooden fist rammed into it.

"**_Elongated Pop!_**" Kaizen exclaimed, sending Lionel flying back into the northern entrance way into the clearing as he raced towards the group of girls, Jethro following close behind him. _"I couldn't make it in time."_ Kaizen thought before quickly glancing at Maya's still body, and clenching his fist, _"It's my fault she ended up like this, I...I have to make this right."_After turning his head away from the body, Kaizen raced after Lionel seeking his revenge.

_"Kaizen."_ Juliet thought as she watched her friend disappear through the forest of ships before, along with the rest of the group, turning her head towards Maya._"Why did you have to arrive so late."_ She took a quick glance at Lily, who stood staring down at her mother with disbelief, before frowning.

Lily stared at her mother's cold eyes, _"Th...this can't be happening."_ She thought as her eyes moved down from her mother's face towards the gaping hole in her lower chest,_"This is all just a dream, I never met those pirates, and I'm probably sleeping in the wine cellar as I speak."_Though somewhere in the back of her mind Lily knew she was wrong, but her denial was the only thing keeping her from breaking out into tears. Without her mother who would she have left? Her only true friend on the island was Jethro, but they weren't close enough for her to consider him as a brother, she would be alone. "Mom why did you have to go!" Lily suddenly yelled out, tears slowly welling in her eyes.

"Because I'm selfish." A weak voice replied causing the group's eyes to widen as Maya lay, softly smiling up at the group, "The fear of being alone was way too strong for me not to jump in the way." She was barely clinging onto life, if her wound wouldn't kill her, then her frequent loss of blood would.  
Upon hearing the response, Lily clenched her fists as tears crept down from her eyes, and streamed down her cheeks, "But what about me!" She exclaimed, "Are you willing to let your daughter carry the burden of being alone rather than you." Lily didn't know what emotion to feel, she was sad that her mother was leaving her, yet she was also furious for how selfish her mother had acted.

"You think you're alone?" Maya whispered before pausing, and taking a deep breath, "Lily, do you want to know the difference between the both us." She asked only to be replied by Lily's still head, "I can tell by the look in your eyes that you're something that I've never been, a dreamer." The word obviously caught Lily by surprise as a short gasp escaped from her mouth, "Dreamers seem to always draw in other dreamers creating bonds between them as they all reach for their beloved dreams." Maya said, "Knowing this, when I learned of your exploits in the ship graveyard I decided to act clueless, and allow you to go, not wanting you to end up as a dreamless bartender like I am."

Lily let out another gasp,_"So she knew about that all along?"_ She thought before shaking her head, and becoming more furious than she already was, "What do dreams have to do with you getting stabbed?!" She suddenly yelled out, "Why waste your time telling me this junk when you can save your energy while we try to help you?"

Hearing Lily's response caused Maya to softly chuckle, she had a feeling her daughter would respond that way, "I'm only telling you this so that when the time comes, you'll make the right decisions." With those last words, Maya's eyes went blank as she drew her last breath, and passed away.

* * *

Kaizen raced through the northern entrance way of the clearing, he was furious, but more at himself, for letting his friends down, than at Lionel. _"I know for certain that I can't punch that hard, yet I still haven't found that bastard yet."_ He thought before quickly coming to a halt, and widening his eyes, "Come out and fight me like a man!" He exclaimed, knowing Lionel was hiding, causing a strange fit of laughter to echo through the wind.

"I was planning on ambushing you, but I guess you're no amateur." Lionel said while still hiding in the shadows, "Though I'm curious about your devil fruit, it seems to have wooden properties yet I've never seen wood that has the capabilities to extend before."

Kaizen examined the area around him, searching for the source of the voice before answering, "Who said anything about me being a wood man!" He exclaimed, "I ate the Tsuri Tsuri no mi, so that makes me a tree man." Kaizen wasn't one to hide his cards during a battle, if an opponent wanted to know something about him, he would tell them. "My arms and legs represent both my branches, and roots." He explained, "My branches stretching to show my glory, and my roots stretching to reach my prey."

Lionel chuckled, this was the kind of devil fruit he had been searching for, "It seems strong." He said, the voice seeming to echo from every corner in the area, "I wonder how well it'll work when I use it." Lionel quickly jumped out of the shadows before racing towards Kaizen from behind, _"If I do this right, I'll kill this kid in one blow"_ Upon getting close enough, Lionel leaped into the air and used his hook to tear through the back of Kaizen's shoulder.

_"How did he tear through my sap so easily."_ Kaizen thought as he quickly jumped forward, only taking a flesh wound from the attack, before turning around to face his opponent, "So are you finally done playing hide and seek?" He asked as the skin on his arm turned into wood, "_**Elongated Pop!**_" Kaizen's clenched wooden fist stretched out towards Lionel, who simply smirked at the incoming attack.

"You're not going to get me with that trick again." Lionel said as he brought up both of his arms, shielding his face, "Let me see you try to punch through seasto..." The once clenched fist suddenly opened up, catching Lionel by surprise before grabbing onto his left shoulder using Lionel's weight to rocket Kaizen forward.

Upon getting close enough to his target, Kaizen let go of Lionel's shoulder before clenching his right fist, and covering it with his left palm. "I never said I was going to punch through your seastone." The tree man said as he softly landed on Lionel's seastone arm before jumping off of it, using it to get in the air behind Lionel, "_**Gaea's Beatdown!**_" With his palm covered fist, Kazen rammed into the back of Lionel's head, causing the front of his head to slam into his seastone arm, rendering the Federation's leader unconscious as Juliet slowly walked into the area.

Juliet suddenly cleared her throat as Kaizen landed on the ground, catching his attention, "So it's all over now." Juliet said somberly as she watched Lionel fall onto the ground.

Kaizen smiled before scratching the back of his head, "Yeah, I bet Maya will be so ecstatic when she hears about it." He said before noticing the depressed expression on her face as she bowed her head at the mention of the deceased bartender, "Is something wrong?"

"Well uh..." Juliet said while avoiding Kaizen's eyes, she didn't know how to break the news to him, and he wasn't making it easier for her by smiling. "About Maya, she...well she's left us."

* * *

Kaizen stood in front of Maya's grave alongside Lily, and Juliet, regretting the past decisions he had made, he then suddenly clenched his fist before turning his head over towards Juliet, "The boat the island is providing should be ready in a few minutes." Kaizen stated, "I'll meet you at the docks by then." He quickly raced away from the tombstone, knowing what he had to do.

"Where are you going!?" Juliet asked, only to not be heard, before sighing, "That idiot, he's probably going off to get drunk again." She said as she herself left the tombstone, and headed towards the docks, "I might as well go along with it, at least I'm not being dragged along with him this time."

With both Kaizen, and Juliet gone, Lily stood alone in front of her mother's grave, though she would have preferred it that way from the beginning. Since Lionel and the rest of the Federation members were defeated, and awaiting the marines, who would arrest them upon arrival, Lily had no one else to blame for Maya's death except for Kaizen. From the moment she met him, the tree man had revealed he was a devil fruit user to practically the whole island, gotten drunk when the Federation attacked, and arrived too late to save her mother, Lily didn't want anything to do with that idiot anymore.

"So this is how you're going to spend the rest of your life, standing in front of a grave all day." A familiar voice stated causing Lily to turn her head, catching sight of her deceased mother, Maya, seemingly in the flesh.

"M...mom?" Lily asked not believing if what she was seeing was real or if her eyes were just playing tricks on her, " I...I thought you died back when Lionel impaled you." The air was still for a second before Maya began to burst out into a fit of laughter.

"You're funny to think an attack from an idiot like Lionel would bring the end of me?" Maya said in between her laughter before suddenly clearing her throat, "Anyways why are you still here mourning? Don't you want to go see Kaizen, and Juliet off?" She asked causing Lily to look down at the ground.

"Why would I want to see that idiot off?" Lily asked without making eye contact with her mother. "He was the reason you left me anyways, if I would have never met him, you would still be alive." She wasn't sure if this was a figment of her imagination or not, but even if her mother had miraculously survived, she still couldn't forgive Kaizen for putting her in such a situation.

"Don't forget that if you would have never met him, we would still be living under the Federation's tyranny." Maya added, "Besides if I remember correctly, I only died because I decided to jump in front of you, not because Kaizen's a lightweight." She stated causing Lily's eyes to widen.

"Yeah, but if he had never been so drunk, you wouldn't have had to jump in front of me in the first place, and you would still be here right now." Lily said desperately trying to keep the blame of her mother's death off of her, she didn't know if she could handle such a burden.

Maya sighed with disappointment, "I thought you would make the right decision and follow your dreams, but it seems that you're too busy playing the blame game instead of focusing on your priorities." She said before placing her hand on Lily's shoulder, "I guess I sacrificed myself for nothing."

Lily quickly reached over her shoulder to touch her mother's hand, but just caused it to fade, "You didn't die for nothing!" Lily exclaimed to the fading image of her mother, "I...I'll prove it to you." She quickly turned around before racing away from the graveyard, leaving her fading mother with a smile on her face before disappearing completely.

* * *

Kaizen raced through the tattered streets of Gonro towards The Purple Cork, _"We first officially met there in the wine cellar, so maybe that's the place I'll find him."_ Kaizen thought before catching sight of the person he was looking for, Leon, who sat on top of the roof of the bar with an almost completely bandage wrapped ferret perched on his shoulder, "Hey Leon!" Kaizen suddenly yelled out catching the attention of the street performer.

Leon sighed as he turned his head towards the boy before reaching for his notepad, scribbling a sentence on it, and tossing it down for Kaizen to read, "The Federation has been defeated meaning our partnership has been terminated, so what could you possibly want?" The notebook read causing Kaizen to smile.

"Leon, come join my crew!" Kaizen exclaimed causing Leon to raise his eyebrow under his helmet. Kaizen knew someone as strong as Leon would make an excellent crew mate, so why pass up the opportunity to recruit him? "So what do you say, will you join?" Kaizen asked as he tossed the notepad back at the street performer, who caught it with ease before placing it down on the roof, and rising off of his feet.

Leon had to admit, he deemed Kaizen worthy enough to be his captain, but sadly that wasn't the only qualification Leon needed to be persuaded into joining his crew. "I'll answer your question after you perform one task." He said as he placed his ferret on the rooftop before jumping down to the ground, crushing some of the stone with the added weight of his devil fruit ability, "I want you to punch me as hard as you can in my gut." He demanded, "Then I'll tell you if I'll join your crew or not."

Kaizen chuckled as the memory of their first encounter streamed through his mind, "Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that." He said as he got into a fighting stance before cracking his knuckles, "Okay, but you asked for it." Kaizen quickly raced towards Leon, the skin on his right arm turning into wood as he got close enough, before slamming his fist into his gut. "What the hell?" Kaizen asked confusingly as he quickly withdrew his right arm, which throbbed in pain, before staring at it.

Leon let out a sigh, "Well I guess that's a no." He answered, seemingly unfazed by Kaizen's attack, "You see, I have a problem with serving under captains who are weaker than I am." Kaizen fell onto his knees, he still didn't understand what had just happened, his fist made contact yet he was the one that had gotten hurt. "If you're wondering why your punch didn't affect me, it's because your strength is that of a normal human." Leon explained causing Kaizen to look up at him, "My Tetsu Tetsu no mi protects me from weak attacks like yours."

Kaizen slowly stood up before giving Leon a wide smile, "Leon..." Kaizen started as he clenched his fist, "Be prepared because the next time we meet, I'll drag your ass onto my ship!" He threatened causing Leon to slyly smile under his helmet as Kaizen turned around, and raced away from him.

_"I'll be awaiting that day...Kaizen."_Leon thought as he returned to the rooftop to continue tending to his ferret's wounds. "Hey Bando, maybe when we're done here we'll head to Totilius." He said as an image of Juliet popped up in his head, "I'm sure with her along, that idiot is bound to end up there sooner, or later."

* * *

Upon reaching the docks, Kaizen smiled as he looked at the small wooden sailboat afloat on the sea before noticing both Juliet, and Lily waiting for him on it. As she caught sight of the tree man, Lily stood up before clearing her throat, "Kaizen, I'm going out to sea with you." Lily said abruptly almost as if she was giving Kaizen no choice in the matter, "But don't get the wrong idea, I'm only using you to pursue my own interest." She still hadn't fully forgiven Kaizen, but she couldn't just dishonor her mother's dying wish.

Kaizen's smile widened as he jumped onto the boat "Well then welcome to the crew!" He exclaimed, "Uh, so what exactly do you do anyways?" Kaizen had yet to see any of Lily's abilities, and with a mysterious red toolbox on the floor with thick brown work gloves stick out from the side, he was curious to know how she would benefit the crew.

Lily sighed, "Isn't it obvious, I'm a shipwright." She said while picking up the toolbox before giving Kaizen a look of determination, "And through this journey I plan on becoming the best one out there."

Juliet sighed, she felt left out by not actually being apart of the crew, "So if you guys are done talking, I would like to leave this island." She said as she untied the rope that kept them bound to the dock, causing the boat to slowly drift away.

Kaizen outstretched his arms in the air with joy, "Alright, onward to our next adventure!" He exclaimed as he raised the sails, leaving Gonro, and heading towards their next destination.

* * *

"The map says I'm getting close." Jethro said as he walked through the ship graveyard, looking intently at the map he was holding. "I can't believe Lily's just giving me the ship." He quickly turned left before catching sight of this supposed ship Lily had been boasting about, "That bastard." Jethro muttered as he stared at a pile of ship parts they had collected with a sign reading "For Jethro" in front of it, "She had me working for something she hasn't even started!"

* * *

**Credits for Bando the ferret go to Barrett M107. For those of you who were expecting an actual fight between Lionel and Kaizen, I apologize for only making it one hit, I just didn't feel that Lionel was that strong, barring his seastone hook. Anyways, I'll try to pick up on my releasing speed, and hopefully have chapters released on Fridays starting next week. Now onto other matters, Lily officially joined the crew, so...**

**Captain: Kaizen D. Leo**

**Shipwright: Lilja "Lily" Velardi**

**Yeah I'll say that's some VIP treatment right there, just kidding, here's some information on the shipwright, mostly written by muse of space.**

Full Name: Lilja Velardi

Alias(es): Lily

Gender: Female

Age: 16

Crew Position: Shipwright

Race: Human

Appearance: Lilja stands at only 5'5" and a half. Her hair is chocolate brown and short, ending at her chin, and is very thick and choppily cut. Her eyes are grey-blue in colour. Due to being out in the sun almost constantly, her skin is extremely tanned, and her face and arms are covered in freckles. It's rare to see her without grease or oil covering her hands and splotching her face. She has a scar on her upper right arm, the tip going from the area where her shoulders connect to the spot in between them and her neck, going down and back, the end stopping at the underside, coming close to her elbow. Thanks to her profession, the muscles in her arms are a bit more defined than those of other girls her age.

Clothing: She wears a large dirty tank top that had once been white, but is now some kind of gross mix between brown, grey and black, with a big orange zip-up jacket tied around her waist. She also wears a pair of large brown pants that hang low, and are tucked into a pair of old black boots. There's often a red rag hanging out of her back pocket, as well. Lilja carries around a pair of thick brown work gloves too, but she only wears those when she's working.

Weapons: Her own fists and feet, or whatever tools she keeps in her toolbox.

Bounty: N/A

Personality: Lilja's a fairly affable young woman, having practically been raised in the bar her mother worked at and long used to the rowdiness of drunks and bandits. She never really shows any extreme emotion unless someone brings up the topic of engineering, in which case she practically falls all over herself while trying to explain just how great it is. She puts all of her love and passion into each of her creations, and takes extreme pride in them. Lilja also gets flustered when people praise her, as she's never actually been able to show off any of her inventions, and is only used to praise from her friend on the island. Though Jethro might disagree, Lilja prides herself on having a good amount of common sense, and listening to reason before she goes and does something stupid or reckless.

Bio: Lilja was born and raised on Gonro Island fourteen years prior to the Federation taking over. Having been the product of a fling between a marine and a bartender, she grew up with her male influences being the many pirates who came in and out of the bar her mother, Maya Velardi, owned. Starting at a young age, Lilja had always been interested in things of the mechanical nature, but the most she could do was fix household appliances for people. Though that didn't stop her from occasionally sneaking down to the ship graveyard when she was older and 'borrowing' some of the things she found down there to mess with. Usually managing to trick Jethro into going with her beforehand, only for him to carry her stuff. After the Federation had invaded, Lilja aspired to build a ship large enough to transport her entire village elsewhere. Though she had to keep it between Jethro and herself, at least the inventing part. If Maya found out she was hanging around the ship graveyard, the woman would skin her alive.

Dream(s): To become the best shipwright/engineer in the world, not the best *female* one, but the best, period.

Other: N/A


	6. Beauty Pageant

**Chapter 6: Beauty Pageant**

The sun stood high in the sky filling the earth with its glorious rays. It had only been an hour since the trio had left Gonro, but with the day being hot, dry, and boring, it seemed to have been years. "Hey Sharky, how about you position yourself on that stove." Kaizen suggested to the sea, seeming to have fallen victim to a mirage, "What did you say Sharky? You want me to add some more butter?"

Lily sighed, she thought being a pirate was supposed to be fun, but it was more boring than her life back at her hometown. The shipwright slowly turned her head towards Juliet, who seemed to have fallen asleep, before placing her elbow on the side of the boat, and resting her head on her hand. _"Just great, the only person I could talk to has already fallen asleep."_ Lily thought as she turned her head towards Kaizen, _"I wonder how that was even possible with him talking it up with the sea over there."_

As a cloud slowly covered the scorching sun, the mirage of Kaizen's shark faded allowing the captain to catch sight of something not too far away from the three of them. "Is that...?" Kaizen started, squinting his eyes to make sure what he was seeing wasn't a trick, "An island!?" He suddenly exclaimed, startling both females.

Juliet turned her head towards the island before sighing, "I guess we can't go one day without finding chaos." She complained before yawning, "Why can't we just skip this island, and travel elsewhere?"

Kaizen's ears twitched at her words causing him to turn his head, and stare at the woman with widened eyes, "What kind of pirate would skip a chance to find adventure?" He asked causing Juliet to turn her face away from him in shame. "Plus we might even find ourselves some potential crew mates."

The idea of new crew mates caused Lily's eyes to widen. More crew mates to her meant more pirates who were either like Lionel, or Kaizen. Both being terrible on her part, "Uh, I have to agree with Juliet on this one." Lily said causing Kaizen to raise an eyebrow, and Juliet to look back up at the two, "Besides our crew is big enough as it is."

Kaizen shook his head at Lily's response, "I've never heard of a Pirate King with only one crew mate." He said before folding his arms, "Besides, why would you want to go on a journey with only one other person?" The question caused Kaizen to scratch his chin as he began to think of a possible answer, "Well I guess if you're on a honeymoon then it's okay."

Lily's cheeks burned a bright red as the thought of having a honeymoon with Kaizen entered her mind, "No that's not what I...never mind, let's just go to the stupid island already." She said before grabbing an oar, dunking it into the water, and beginning to paddle.

Juliet simply smiled, _"I guess even the toughest of girls get embarrassed at the thought of stuff like that."_ She thought as Kaizen grabbed an oar, and began paddling towards the island as well.

Upon reaching the island, the trio's jaws dropped as they stared at the island's most prominent feature, a large white mansion standing at about four stories high, and holding a large silver church bell at the top of it. "Where are we?" Kaizen asked no one in particular without taking his eyes off of the mansion.

"I'm not too sure." Lily answered, seemingly getting the shock she had been waiting for since becoming a pirate. _"I thought The Purple Cork was big, but compared to this..."_ She quickly stepped off of the boat before docking the vessel, catching sight of Juliet, who seemed to have her attention caught elsewhere.

"Karagawi Island Beauty Pageant, currently accepting entries for today's show at Wile Mansion." Juliet stated as she read a flyer off of the ground before widening her eyes, "First prize is an astounding...eleven million beli!" Her sudden outburst caused Kaizen too turn his head towards the flyer, his eyes almost falling out at how wide they had gotten. "Lily we have to enter." Juliet demanded, without taking her eyes off of the flyer, before grabbing Lily's wrist, and trying to race off with the shipwright, who held firmly in place.

"You can go on without me." Lily suggested causing Juliet to give her a confused expression, "I'm not really a pageant person." She explained causing Juliet to simply shrug before racing off as Lily turned her head towards Kaizen, who continued to turn his head back and forth between the mansion, and the flyer.

"I've only been on this island for a minute, and I want to stay fore..." Before Kaizen could finish, his stomach growled, knocking him out of his daze. "I want some food." He stated bluntly before suddenly racing off causing Lily to sigh as she took her adjustable wrench out of her toolbox before placing it in her back pocket, and running off after him.

* * *

_"For a mansion that seems so big, it sure is far away."_ Juliet thought as she raced towards Wile Mansion, "I'm going to be so rich after this." Juliet silently cheered, blinded by the chance of winning money that she forgot about her lack of spare clothing.

Upon arriving at Wile Mansion, Juliet was surprised to see how short the line was. For eleven million beli, she thought the line would at least stretch out to the Grand Line. Though, along with the line length, Juliet was surprised that nobody in the line wore a dress of any kind, as if the pageant had been announced just this morning. "There's only room for twenty more participants, so I'm going down the line to handpick these pretty little ladies!" A large, muscular man with greased black hair and a black mustache that curved into a spiral at the tip yelled out from behind an entry booth. He wore a wrestling singlet, exposing parts of his chest, and black combat boots.

Juliet looked up, checking out her competition, _"Wait..."_ she thought as the man had begun to pick out the ladies from the front of the line,_"If I'm correct, there are exactly twenty-one ladies in line."_ She then began to look at the women in front of her, all seeming to be staring blankly at the mansion, before clenching her fist, _"Something's off about this place, maybe I should head back." _Juliet proceeded to turn around as a large hand gripped onto her shoulder.

"21?" The large man said, seemingly confused, before turning Juliet around, and staring at her, "I don't think I've seen you around here before." The large man stated as he scratched his head, "And by the look on your face it doesn't seem like you've been here quite long." The man's eyes widen as he quickly took out a Den-Den Mushi with a polka-dotted shell from his pocket before speaking to it, "I think we may have some newcomers." He mumbled causing Juliet to panic.

_"Damn it Kaizen, why did you have to land on such a strange island?"_She thought to herself as the large man began to mumble more into the Den-Den Mushi before nodding, and putting the communication device back into his pocket.

"Alright pretty face, you're coming with me." The man quickly picked Juliet up off of the ground before carrying her inside of the mansion.

* * *

"Isn't this place a little strange to you?" Lily asked as both she, and her captain walked through the streets, constantly being bumped into by pedestrians with each step. "We've been walking around for a good twenty minutes, and we still haven't run into a restaurant of any kind."

Kaizen scratched his chin, he hadn't really noticed anything other than the fact that he had been constantly bumped into, and that it was starting to piss him off, "Well I don't care if there's only one restaurant on the island, as long as I get my food!" He exclaimed before catching the sweet scent of food cooking, causing him to race through the crowds, his shipwright following close behind him.

As the duo arrived at the location of the smell, Lily looked up at the sign before reading it, "Killer Cuisines." She read as she stared at the small stone establishment while scratching her head. "Are you sure this is the place you want to eat at?" She asked as she turned her head towards her captain, who had already entered the restaurant, causing Lily to sigh, _"I should have chosen the beauty pageant."_ Lily thought as she entered the building after Kaizen, who seemed to have already gotten a table.

"Can I get a waiter over here!?" Kaizen yelled as he snapped his fingers in the air obnoxiously.

Lily walked over to sit at the opposite end of the table from her captain as a slim man with short black hair who wore an apron over a black tuxedo with a white shirt underneath walked over towards the table. "What would you like to order?" He asked blankly, seemingly bored of his job, before writing in his notepad without the duo actually ordering anything, and walking away.

Kaizen raised an eyebrow, how could the waiter just walk away from him before he could make his order? "Hey I didn't even make my order ye..." Before he could finish, another patron of the establishment stood up from his chair before tossing his plate of sandwiches onto the ground with rage.

"You call this food!" The man exclaimed angrily as the ceramic plate shattered into pieces, "Unless you're cooking for a barn full of animals, all you're serving me is a plate full of shit!" The air grew still as the words echoed, the waiters quickly racing away, either hiding behind counters, or under desk as if something was about to go down.

"I know I didn't just hear someone talk down about my cooking!" A muffled voice from inside the kitchen yelled as the double doors to the room flew open, and the chef of the restaurant stormed out of it. "Am I correct?" He asked as he got into the customer's face. The chef was a fairly tall man with somewhat muscular arms, and short black hair. The man wore a white shirt with green stripes under an open black jacket, a white bandanna tied around his right forearm, blue long pants, and black combat boots.

"No you aren't!" The customer exclaimed as he walked up to the chef, and jammed his index finger in his chest, "I don't know how you even became a cook with your shitty skills, but I want a full refun..." Before he could finish his sentence, the chef grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, and raised him into the air.

"If you dare finish your sentence, it will be the last words you say." The chef calmly threatened as he clenched his fist.

In the midst of the chaos, Kaizen stared intently at the sandwiches the customer had thrown onto the floor, _"It's just there, waiting for me."_ The young captain thought as he slowly stood up from his seat before kneeling onto the ground, and crawling towards the unfinished meal. After making it towards the sandwiches, he picked one of them up before shoving it into his mouth, "This is pretty delicious." He said causing the air to grow still once again as the chef turned his head towards Kaizen.

"Wh...what did you just say?" The chef asked as he dropped the customer before walking over towards Kaizen, who had shoved another sandwich in his mouth, and looking down at him.

Kaizen stared up at the chef before smiling, showing the man the food still in his mouth, "I said that these sandwiches were delicious." He answered causing the chef to smile widely back at the young captain before stretching his arm down, helping Kaizen up to his feet.

"I haven't seen someone truly enjoy the fine art of cooking in a good while." The chef said before outstretching his hand for a handshake, "I'm Dante, and I'm the chef of this fine establishment." He said his voice full of pride as if he were telling Kaizen of his numerous accomplishments.

"I'm Kaizen D. Leo, and I'm going to be Pirate King." Kaizen responded as he bent over to pick up the plate of sandwiches before stuffing another one into his mouth.

Dante's eyes widened, _"A pirate huh?"_ He thought as a sly smile appeared on his face, _"But from the look of him, I don't think he knows."_ Dante quickly turned his head towards the clock before sighing, "Well it was nice meeting you Kaizen, but I have somewhere I have to be right noe."

Lily quickly stood up from her chair as Dante slowly walked towards the door, this was the only man that seemed to have noticed them, so she wouldn't miss her chance, "Hey Dante." She started, catching the chef's attention, "What's up with the people on this island anyways?" The question seemed to have given Dante a form of uneasiness as he clenched his fist, but not seeing this, Lily carried on, "You're the only person who has actually looked us in the eyes, why is that?"

Dante scratched his head before sighing, "Well I guess that's because this island is known for its xenophobia." He explained before shrugging his shoulders, "The pedestrians must have found out that you weren't natives to this place, and decided to ignore you."

Lily raised an eyebrow; she wasn't buying the story one bit. If the people on this island were so xenophobic, they would have kicked the three of them off of the island the second they arrived. Though even with this in mind, Lily decided to play along, "So how can we win their trust?" She asked feigning eagerness, "Every xenophobic society must have a way or two."

Dante slyly smiled, "Well there is one way." He started, slyly smiling at how eager the shipwright was, "The only way I've seen foreigners gain the island's trust is by attending the weekly beauty pageants." The mentioning of the word pageant caused Kaizen's eyes to widen.

"Oh yeah I almost forgot!" The young captain exclaimed as thoughts of Juliet, and money entered his mind, "We have to go cheer Juliet on at the pageant, so we can help her carry all of that money."

Out of nowhere, a bell rang loudly, echoing through the streets of Karagawi, causing all of the patrons, and waiters to suddenly exit the building in a single-file line. "Well speak of the devil." Dante said as he grabbed both Kaizen' and Lily's wrist before joining the line, "The pageants about to begin."

As the line made its way towards the Wile Mansion, the trio spotted two men in front of the doors staring intently at the single-file line as if they were searching for something. One was an extremely tall man with short brown hair, a gray tank top with numerous sweat stains, long khaki colored pants, and black shoes. The other was a tan shirtless man of a more average height who wore baggy red pants with a fire pattern on the right pant leg.

Dante sighed, "Those guys up there are probably the most xenophobic out of everyone else on the island." He explained without looking back at the two, "You two just stay here, and let me deal with them." The chef quickly stepped out of line before walking away from the duo, and towards the two men, seemingly striking a conversation with the two.

"I don't trust him." Lily whispered causing Kaizen's eyes to widen, "He just gives off some sort of bad vibe, and his face...I'm pretty sure I've seen it somewhere before." She stated as the memories of her constantly reading the newspapers pirates would leave on the bar tables back on Gonro streamed through her mind.

Kaizen folded his arms, "What are you talking about?" He asked as he stared at the three men talking before smiling, "He kept me from starving to death, so he's good in my book."

Lily furrowed her eyebrows; she knew there wouldn't be a way to get past her captain's thick skull. Deciding to drop the matter, Lily kept her thoughts to herself as Dante looked back at the two of them before giving them a nod, signaling that it was all clear for them to enter.

The beauty pageant was held in a large ballroom type area with the chairs aligned horizontally, and all facing towards the large, curtain covered, stage in the front of the room. It seemed as if there were enough seats for everyone on the island barring Kaizen, Lily, and Dante. "Hey I think I see some open seats over there." Dante informed as he pointed his index finger at two rows of chairs, one open seat placed in the row behind the two other open seats. "I'll take seat in the row closest to the back." The chef insisted as he walked off.

Lily folded her arms,_ "It's strange."_She thought,_ "In a room where every seat appears to be taken, three seats are conveniently placed so close towards each other."_ She still wasn't buying it, but before she could point any of this out to Kaizen, the latter quickly grabbed her wrist before racing her away towards the open seats.

"It's about to start!" Kaizen warned as the curtains drew open revealing a single man standing on stage. He had white hair covering one of his silver eyes, a white business suit, a white top hat, and a black cane in his right hand.

"Hello Karagawi!" The man greeted, "Now normally we would begin the pageant right away, but it seems like we have some guest here today." The man proceeded to turn his head towards both Kaizen, and Lily, somehow knowing exactly where they were sitting, before letting out one word, "Godfrey."

Lily's eyes widened as the word echoed throughout the room, "Dante Godfrey..." She said, finally remembering where she had seen the man's face before. On cue, the barrel of a flintlock jabbed softly into the back of her head, as the silver blade of a Chinese short sword rested flatly on Kaizen's shoulder. Lily slowly moved her eyes, getting a better look at the sword, the black hilt with a thick red line wrapped around the width, and the golden guard assuring her of the chef's identity, "The Captain Killer."

* * *

**Yeah, I'm extremely late with this chapter. The day before I was about to release it, I found it too boring, and decided to rewrite practically the whole thing. Though school starting up also affected my working speed, slowing it down drastically. Anyways Dante Godfrey is an OC that belongs to Dynasty56. The silver haired man is also an OC, but I'll give credit to the owner when the OC is revealed.**


End file.
